Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 063 - Watten to John O'Groats

 

Day:	063
Date:	Sunday, 4 July 2010
Start:	Watten
Finish:	John O'Groats
Daily Kilometres:	36.0
Total Kilometres:	2043.8
Weather:	Rain and strong winds in the morning, with a mix of strong wind, sun and showers in the afternoon
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£35)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; ham sandwich for lunch; pea soup, fish pie, chips and vegetables, and rhubarb crumble and ice-cream for dinner
Aches:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I had breakfast and was on my way from the hotel by 8:45am on a wet and windy morning.  For only the second time on the trip, I was wearing my Goretex long pants and splashed off down the wet road, huddled against the strong wind determined to stay as dry and warm as possible.  Actually, the temperature wasn't too low, but the wind chill was significant. I had decided against the guidebook route which would have involved crossing to the east coast via some tracks and cross-country sections and then following the cliff edge northwards.  Although the scenery would have been interesting, slogging through knee-deep wet grass and nettles in rain and wind was likely to make it very unpleasant.  Instead, I chose a route that involved quiet back roads north to the north coast and then eastwards along the coast until I reached Duncansby Head, the most north-east point on the UK mainland. It took about four hours of walking along the roads to reach the north coast, but there was little traffic and, despite being blown about by the wind, I managed it comfortably and could see enough of the rolling rural landscape to make it interesting.  I finally came within sight of the coast at about 1pm and stopped soon afterwards in the village of Canisbay to eat my lunch huddled in the lee of a bus shelter.  The coast looked windswept and exposed, with forlorn houses overlooking the white-capped sea and the rain-shrouded Isle of Stroma offshore.  I could see a ferry struggling to make headway northwards through the waves. After lunch I paralleled the coast eastwards and actually had to pass through the village of John O'Groats, about 500m south of the coast, on my way to Duncansby Head, about 3km east of John O'Groats.  The rain had stopped and I had some long periods of sunshine, though the wind was still very strong.  I climbed up to Duncansby Head and its lighthouse, arriving about 3:45pm and had a look around, with clear views west and south along the coast, including the spectacular Stacks of Duncansby, rocky spires rising from sheer the sea. This really completed my journey from south-western tip to north-eastern tip, but I still had to walk back to the John O'Groats tourist area a few kilometres along a coastal path.  It was a pleasant walk, overlooking some sandy beaches and low rocky headlands.  A highlight was seeing large seals wallowing in the breakers just offshore, and a second highlight was watching the track of a large thunderstorm passing just to the west of me north to the offshore islands.  I was glad it missed me.  I reached the tourist area and had a brief look around, though there wasn't much to see.  I confirmed that there was no Sunday bus to Thurso, 32km away, from where my train leaves at 8:41am tomorrow, but also confirmed there was a 6:47am bus tomorrow morning, which will get me there in plenty of time.  I walked back to the village of John O'Groats and booked into the rather tacky hotel where I had dinner and was given a small "breakfast pack" since I will be leaving before breakfast is served tomorrow. So, my hike is over.  It lived up to all my expectations (and the weather significantly exceeded my expectations....I am very brown).  It will be nice not having to walk every day but I know that, in a few days' time, I will be thinking back nostalgically to various points along my trek.  Trips as long as this become a way of life, rather than just a vacation.  They are cleansing and rejuvenating.  Nevertheless, I will enjoy returning to civilisation and am looking forward to seeing my loved ones.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 062 - Dirlot to Watten

 

Day:	062
Date:	Saturday, 3 July 2010
Start:	Dirlot
Finish:	Watten
Daily Kilometres:	18.5
Total Kilometres:	2007.8
Weather:	Overcast and windy
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£40)
Nutrition:	Trail mix for breakfast; egg & ham and chicken and mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch; vegetable soup, steak pie and vegetables, and apple crumble and custard for dinner
Aches:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	I had a long sleep, but it was a bit uncomfortable, manouevring my body around the hard grass tussocks under the tent, and feeling particularly sticky and grubby, having missed a wash last night.  It rained during the night and remained very windy all night.  I was frequently woken by wind gusts causing the tent to wobble and flap, but thankfully stayed anchored to the ground. I got up at 7am and was on my way by 8am after packing up and eating a trail-mix breakfast.  Given that I only had about 20km to go to Watten, where I was staying for the night and which I knew had a store, I decided to dump what was left of my trail mix to reduce pack weight, and also all but 600mls of water.  The guidebook route involved some cross-country walking, but also suggested that a road walk was available to get to Watten.  Given that there were no scenic highlights on the off-road route and the fact that the road walk was on a very minor road, I chose the latter. The scenery became more and more rural with more passed and cattle and sheep grazing on grassy and undulating meadows.  Perhaps a highlight of the morning was seeing, in the far distance, the North Sea for the first time on the walk. I reached Watten and the Brown Trout Hotel a little before 12:30pm.  Unfortunately, they weren't serving lunch today because of some kitchen repairs, but will be serving dinner tonight.  I didn't expect to be able to get into my room given that I was so early, but the publican was very friendly and helpful and said it would be ready by 2pm at the latest, and that I was welcome to sit in the bar until then, and that he could make me a sandwich if I liked.  I didn't want to impose too much, so walked 50m down the road to the small general store and bought a drink, a couple of sandwiches, and the local Saturday paper, and sat on the bench outside eating and reading for an hour.  It was a bit blustery, but not unpleasant. I returned to the hotel at 1:30pm and my room was ready, so I did some washing, had a shower and spent the afternoon and evening watching the World Cup quarter-finals and Wimbledon as well as eating dinner in the hotel bar and doing my diary and email. I can hardly believe that tomorrow is my last day of the walk.  I'm ready to stop, but know it won't be long before I'm thinking back nostalgically to different parts of the walk and particularly the remote and wild western Highlands which were so challenging, yet so rewarding in terms of scenic grandeur and the sense of personal isolation and insignificance. My clothing is wearing out and I have holes in my socks, boots, T-shirt, sweater and underpants.  I'm going to look like a derelict on the train back to London on Monday. Getting from John O'Groats to Thurso, where I hope to stay tomorrow night and from where my train departs on Monday morning may prove to be a challenge.  Apparently buses do not run on Sunday, and I probably won't arrive until the evening.  Could be hitch-hiking or maybe a taxi.  Another complication for tomorrow could be the weather.  There is a severe weather warning out for much of Scotland tomorrow with forecasts of 100kph winds and heavy rain.  My planned route was to follow roads to the coast north-east of Watten and then walk about 16km along the cliff-tops north to Duncansby Head (the true north-eastern tip of the mainland) before going west the 3km to John O'Groats.  However, if the weather is too diabolical, the cliff-tops may not be sensible and I'll walk some inland roads to get there instead.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 061 - Knockfin to Dirlot

 

Day:	061
Date:	Friday, 2 July 2010
Start:	Knockfin
Finish:	Dirlot
Daily Kilometres:	33.5
Total Kilometres:	1989.3
Weather:	Mostly sunny and windy
Accommodation:	Free camping
Nutrition:	Trail mix for breakfast; two Snickers for lunch; trail mix and Kit Kat for dinner
Aches:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	It was windy and rained heavily during the night, but had cleared up by morning and the wind had mostly dried the tent.  I woke up at 7am and had breakfast and packed by 8:30am on what was already a warmish, but breezy day. The morning route was virtually entirely cross-country and involved climbing steadily up to Knockfin Heights (~400m), a large featureless plateau of peat bogs, then crossing the plateau and descending the other side.  Navigation was a little tricky, but the good visibility helped me avoid mistakes.  However, negotiating the peat bogs and hags was tiring and tedious and it was noon by the time I finally reached a track on the other side of the plateau.  There were some deer herds around and I did encounter a small (1m) green and black hooped snake. The afternoon turned into a steady trudge along 4WD tracks and gravel roads in countryside which gradually flattened out and gradually turned from moorland to pastoral.  There wasn't much to see, and my motivation was low, but I just kept plodding along, knowing that each step today was a step less for tomorrow.  I figured that if I had a reasonably long day today, then tomorrow would turn into a half day into Watten, where I had pre-booked a hotel room. Around 6pm, having reached the last place the guide-book suggested I would find a place to camp, I started looking for somewhere to stop and found a rough spot shortly after and set up the tent in a strong wind which made it difficult.  The ground is tussocky, and I have a couple of bad lumps under the floor of the tent that I will have to sleep around.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 060 - Crask to Knockfin

 

Day:	060
Date:	Thursday, 1 July 2010
Start:	Crask
Finish:	Knockfin
Daily Kilometres:	46.2
Total Kilometres:	1956.0
Weather:	Raining and very windy in the morning, partly sunny and breezy in the afternoon
Accommodation:	Free camping
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; trail mix for lunch; cheese & pickle sandwich for dinner
Aches:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	The Crask Inn owner agreed to a relatively early breakfast and I ate at 7:30am and was walking by 8:30am on a very blustery and wet morning.  The forecast wasn't good and I had prepared myself for a day of wetness.  The early route was along a little-used farm path up to Bealach Easach, a low pass which would be my last of the trip.  The undergrowth was wet and soon so were my socks and boots.  There was a lot of low cloud and the wind was blowing me about a bit, but it wasn't too bad and I could see a reasonable distance. The other side of the pass descended more steeply through a craggy sort of ravine down to Loch a'Bhealaich, which had a lot of white caps.  The path improved as I got lower and the rest of the morning involved travelling alongside one loch after another with moderately high mountains on either side.  I couldn't see the highest peaks, but the guide book says I'm also passing my last Munro (3000+ft mountain) today and my last loch of the trip. The further I went, the more the valley opened out and it became quite a boring walk along a gravel road that I could see stretching far out in front of me.  The scenery was pretty enough, but more low-key and because I could see so far ahead, there was no change to create interest.  However, I was making reasonable time and reached a road around 5pm in what was now quite pleasant weather.  There was very little traffic, but I had about 10km to walk, passing through the tiny village of Kinbrace (no pub, no shop) on the way.  The day finished with a few kilometres of difficult cross-country until I reached Knockfin, the site of a village abandoned during the Scottish clearances in the 19th century.  I found a nice spot to camp by a small stream and quickly set up and had a wash in the stream whilst being tormented by midges.  I hastily retreated to my tent and ate and found I had wireless internet coverage so spent the evening catching up on diary and email.  I travelled a bit further today than was required and am setting myself up for an easy day on Saturday and then my last day on Sunday.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 059 - Overscaig to Crask

 

Day:	059
Date:	Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Start:	Overscaig
Finish:	Crask
Daily Kilometres:	15.1
Total Kilometres:	1909.8
Weather:	Mostly overcast with a brisk breeze
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£45)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; cheese & pickle sandwich for lunch; tomato soup, roast lamb and vegetables, and strawberry shortcake for dinner
Aches:	None really
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here (missed the first hour)
Journal:	I took my time having breakfast and getting ready to leave the hotel, knowing that I had a short day and that there was no point in getting to the Crask Inn, my target for the day, too early.  I had finished my fourth book for the trip and the owner agreed to let me swap my finished book for one of theirs from the lounge bookshelf, provided that it wasn't one of their better ones.  They had some good ones that appealed to me, but I decided on a non-controversial Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) which I suspected they wouldn't miss, and I was right. I started walking at 10am and, rather than follow the guide-book suggestion for the first section, which required backtracking a kilometre and then following a forestry road, I just walked down the narrow main road for the first hour or so and saved myself a couple of kilometres, only saw half a dozen cars and had great views over Loch Shin.  I was startled at one point when an RAF Tornado flew up the Loch from behind me at a very low altitude.  I was suddenly aware of a rapidly approaching loud noise from behind and jumped off the road. After the initial road walk, I had short stretch on a gravel side road and then seven or eight kilometres of cross-country work.  The guidebook described it as trackless peat bog and it was correct.  To avoid the worst of the bog the route zig-zagged across the moorland by going via the summit of two low hills, both of which provided great views on a very clear day in all directions.  I could see mountains in the near and far distance and the large Loch Shin as well as a number of small lochs.  For the first time in a week, I had a reasonably strong mobile phone signal and spent quite some time on the first summit eating my lunch and trying to connect to the internet.  Unfortunately, there was a problem with my prepaid wireless and two calls to the help centre, both of which were cut short when I lost the signal, couldn't resolve it.  Pretty much a wasted hour, but I had the time and it was worth a try. The very isolated Crask Inn was visible in the far distance from the first summit and I could see it for most of the rest of the day as I walked slowly towards it via the second summit.  While climbing the second hill, I disturbed a largish herd of deer, and also saw what could have been a small snake.  In Australia, slogging cross-country across this kind of country, I would have expected to have encountered many snakes. I finally reached the Crask Inn at 3:45pm, feeling particularly lazy after my low kilometre day.  The manageress said my room wasn't ready, but offered me a cup of coffee if I didn't mind waiting in the lounge, which was no problem at all.  She also brought me today's Glasgow Herald and I enjoyed sitting back and reading the paper for an hour or so, before being shown to my room.  The pub feels very historic and is owned by a farmer and his wife, both of whom seem to work non-stop.  Dinner was made from local produce and I shared a table with a nice couple from south of Edinburgh who were on holiday and day hiking from the Inn. Rain is forecast for tomorrow.  I suspected I would have to pay for my run of relatively good weather through Scotland at some time.

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 058 - Oykel Bridge to Overscaig

Day:	058
Date:	Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Start:	Oykel Bridge
Finish:	Overscaig
Daily Kilometres:	38.7
Total Kilometres:	1894.7
Weather:	Mostly overcast with light winds
Accommodation:	Hotel B&B (£48)
Nutrition:	Scottish breakfast; cheese, ham & pickle sandwiches for lunch; pea & ham soup, fish, chips and peas, and strawberry shortcake for dinner
Aches:	Very tired.
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	It was raining when I woke up, but had stopped by the time I left the hotel around 9:30am.  The hotel was really set up for fishermen and, as well as the breakfast buffet, there was a buffet and plastic lunch boxes for guests to make up there own lunches to take fishing.  Once again, everybody was very well-dressed, some of the men in plus-fours (sp?).  I think one of them was an actor I recognized from British situation comedies, but I can't remember the names of them.  I made myself a couple of sandwiches.  When I paid the bill before leaving, I was a bit staggered by the prices, but there's no choice out here.  Hope I don't run out of cash. Soon after I left, I called the Overscaig Hotel, my target for tonight, to let them know that I was late leaving but was definitely coming.  They said dinner finished at 8pm and to give them a call when I got closer if I thought I was going to be late (my mobile phone with the Telstra [Australian] SIM Card inserted can choose between a number of local carriers and enables me to make calls when my British SIM from T-Mobile doesn't have coverage, however, it's much more expensive using the Telstra card). Conscious that I had a long day including some rough walking, I was pleased that the first few hours were easy walking along a gravel track which gradually followed the Oykel River upstream.  It was very picturesque and, although I didn't see any fishermen, there were fisherman's huts and facilities along the way.  My gravel track eventually ended and I had an hour of following a difficult trail through sodden calf-high undergrowth while still following the river upstream.  Soon my feet and socks were sodden again but I still maintained a reasonable pace alongside the babbling river. My route then took me through a forest on a track which emerged on the shores of the picturesque Loch Ailsh.  It was a very peaceful scene with two dinghies with fisherman way out on the calm water, backed by high hills forested on the lower slopes.  Soon after, I left Loch Ailsh I stopped briefly for a sandwich and then began following an old cart track which gradually climbed higher and higher into the moorland.  It was boggy and sometimes hard to follow, but the scenery was again dramatic and beautiful, and I was feeling strong and enjoying life. After a couple of hours and some exciting stream crossings, I reached the point where my route left the cart track and, for five or six kilometres went cross-country.  As usual, it was difficult, slow and tiring, with the way frequently blocked by peat channels and bogs.  I also had to ford the River Cassley, which involved wading calf-deep across a fast flowing and reasonably wide river.  Before entering the water, I made sure everything valuable was watertight, but I had no problems, apart from sodden boots and socks again.  After the river I had to cross a low pass and then descend across very rough country to eventually reach a road on the shores of Loch Shin.  I arrived there soon after 6pm and calculated that I should comfortably reach the Overscaig Hotel before 8pm.  I actually arrived at 7:30pm and they took my dinner order before I went up and had a quick shower and returned to eat.  The manager tells me I am the second Lands End to John O'Groats hiker they have had following this route in a week.  I did see a few footprints out there in the wilderness. Unfortunately, still no T-Mobile coverage (but everything else!).  I have a short day tomorrow, and am looking forward to it.

 

Lands End to John O'Groats - Day 057 - Croftown to Oykel Bridge

 

Day:	057
Date:	Monday, 28 June 2010
Start:	Croftown
Finish:	Oykel Bridge
Daily Kilometres:	38.3
Total Kilometres:	1856.0
Weather:	Mostly overcast, strong winds and showers all day
Accommodation:	Hotel D,B&B (£90)
Nutrition:	Trail mix for breakfast; two Snickers for lunch; roast lamb & vegetables and caramel banana pie and ice-cream for dinner
Aches:	Sore feet (wet all day) and very tired
Pictures:	Here
GPS Track:	Here
Journal:	There were strong winds and some heavy rain squalls during the night, but they didn't present any problems for my tent, which I am very pleased with - lightweight, strong, spacious, airy and waterproof.  It wasn't raining when I woke soon after 6am and, though tired, I forced myself to get up and pack up, taking advantage of the brief dry spell.  I was walking by 7am and my path continued across the desolate and windswept moorland.  I was hoping to reach Inverlael, yesterday's "official" target, within an hour, but the descent from the moorland to Strath More was steep and winding and then I had to walk some distance along the valley until I got to Inverlael (which was more a place on a map than a place in reality), nearly doubled my estimate to two hours.  The valley was quite lush and I know I am quite close to the sea (Atlantic Ocean) here, so the weather is probably more moderate lower down.  I saw some school kids walking to their bus from some of the houses spread out in the valley. After this usual brief taste of civilisation, I again headed for the heights, initially through a pine plantation, then on a gravel 4WD track that climbed steeply to the moors again.  It was raining intermittently, so I was keeping my raincoat on, but it wasn't too cold and I was sweating on the climbs.  When the track petered out in the boggy peaty moorland, I had a 5+kilometre stretch of cross-country work to do, which I found very tedious.  The grass and tussocks were wet from the rain, meaning that my feet were soon quite wet, and the boggy and eroded peat made route-finding difficult and tiring.  You are constantly climbing down a metre or so to boggy peat washouts then climbing back up again to grass tussocks to look for a way past the next washout.  The weather was still quite miserable but, as usual, the scenery was spectacular and isolated.  I had it all to myself for as far as the eye could see, which was a long way. Eventually I had a steep and difficult descent to Glen Douchary and the Douchary River, which I had to ford.  I found a place where I reckoned I could get across by rock-hopping but, while climbing down from the peat bank, my feet slipped and I ended up standing in the water anyway!  The guidebook now said to follow the river downstream along the trackless bank, but I had noticed a track, high on the other side of the Glen, that seemed to be going in the right direction.  I had a break and read the guidebook and determined that there was nothing particularly special about the next section, except that some of it was described as difficult, and worked out on the map that if I climbed to the track it was no further and probably faster going, along with better views.   I knew I still had a long way to go to get to the Oykel Bridge Hotel and hoped that walking on the track would give me a chance of getting there at a reasonable hour. There was still plenty of ascent and descent and, despite the firmer footing, I was tired and behind time.  It's amazing how much time gets soaked up in these cross-country bits.  Anyway, I kept plugging away, taking a break every two hours, and reached the Oykel Bridge Hotel, all on its own on a minor road in a valley, at about 6:15pm.  I checked in, enjoyed my bath and went down to the carvery dinner at the appointed time of 8pm.  There were about a dozen other people there and I was the only male who had not dressed for dinner with a jacket and tie.  I looked very conspicuous in my shorts, T-shirt and running shoes. Breakfast is not until 8:30am, so it will be a late start and another long day tomorrow, with some more cross-country.  At least I will be well-rested and fed by the time I hit the trail.